The Key
by i'M-a-ReBeL
Summary: *SORATO* Centers more around Tai. Tai has a birth right to the throne, though his younger 'half' bro, Yamato, is the heir. His evil uncle and a sorceress manipulates him into helping them against Yamato and to rule the world. Magic, Fantasy, Medieval etc.


**The chick that changes her name too much is BACK! Lol :D :P I'm trying to keep this name for the rest of the year... Don't think I can though ^^;; :P This fic is AU/Medieval/Fantasy/Magic sorta fic ^^ Some Sorato thrown in... But I really just like the relationship between Matt and Tai ^^ I don't mean Taito :P Just their relationship... Yeah, neways, R + R, pwease?? ^^**

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Yagami Taichi peered through the silk curtains he was hiding behind. He wasn't supposed to be in this room, but he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. His mother was currently on the bed, as female servants surrounded her. His father was no where in sight. 

The little three year old watched as his mother screamed, wondering if they were hurting her. But then he thought his father wouldn't let that happen, so he just clutched the thin material of the curtain in his grips. 

Soon after, he heard crying. He peeped through even more, and caught sight of a crying bundle of blankets in his mothers' arms, and she was smiling down at it. At which then, the door to the room opened, and the King, his father, came in. 

Taichi's mind whirled at how fast and excitedly everyone around him was moving, and all he could remember from that night was the words spoken by his father, 

"The heir to the throne has been born" 

**~*~ Two Years Later ~*~**

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****Taichi glared down at his little brother in the cradle. They had named him Yamato. And even though Taichi was only five, he knew what happened around him. He had made a vowel to think for himself, and so he had. His little brother was the heir. And he knew why. 

Everyone thought Taichi was the son of the then Princess Natsuko Takaishi, and Lord Yachi Yagami. But in truth, he was the son of the now Queen Natsuko Ishida, _and_ King Masaharu Ishida. _He_ was the rightful heir. Not his little 'half' brother. Lord Yagami was killed in war when Taichi was one, and from then on, Princess Natsuko had married Prince Masaharu. Shortly after, the current King, Masaharu's father, died, making Masaharu king. Even though Masaharu was King, he couldn't tell the public that Taichi _was_ really his son, and not Lord Yagami's. He was illegitimate, and if that came out, the throne would be handed to Masaharu's younger brother, Masahiro. They couldn't let that happen, so they kept things the way they were. They just had to have another son to become the heir, that was all. And so they did that. 

"Chi" Yamato gurgled, looking up at Taichi. 

"Shut up" Taichi replied, grabbing hold of his brother's small hands. 

"Chi" Yamato giggled again. 

Taichi grumbled, "It's Taichi, baka" 

"Yes, indeed" 

Taichi turned around, towards the door of the room. There stood his Uncle, Lord Hetsu Ishida, the youngest of the three brothers. He was the only other person besides Natsuko, Masaharu, and Taichi that knew Taichi was meant to be the Crown Prince. 

"Uncle" Taichi stated. 

"My little nephew Prince Taichi feels no resentment towards Yamato?" Hetsu drawled. 

Taichi frowned, "He's my brother" 

"Ah, yes. Though people only think he's your _half_ brother, no? You're not the son of _my_ brother" 

"I am too!" 

"Then don't you think people should be able to know that? Don't you think _you_ should be the heir?" Hetsu chuckled. 

"Mum and dad said no. It'll ruin stuff" 

"It will if you do it wrong" 

"Wrong?" 

"You can't just _say_ the truth. First, you have to get rid of someone..." 

"Yamato?" Taichi guessed. 

"You're quite quick" Hetsu praised, an evil glint in his eyes. 

Taichi smirked, "How am I supposed to do that?" 

"Just follow whatever I say, and I guarantee I'll get you on that throne. With help from my associate..." 

"Associate?" 

"Partner. You'll meet her in time... that is, if you've agreed to our little 'plan'?" 

Taichi cocked his head, as if thinking, "Why are you doing this? If I become King instead of Yamato, that won't effect you. And how are you going to keep Uncle Masahiro from taking the throne, once he finds out I am his real nephew?" 

"You sure think a lot for a five year old. But then, that's a given for an Ishida" Hetsu yet again praised, hoping this would get Taichi on his side more easily. 

It worked. Taichi beamed at him. 

Hetsu continued, "I am a man of truth. I don't like it that your parents are keeping you from the throne, just so my older brother Masahiro won't get it instead. I am on your side, Taichi. And don't you worry about what Masahiro will do once you announce you're the rightful King, I've got it covered. So what do you say?" 

Taichi thought for a moment, but then grinned, "You're on, Uncle" 

"Great" Hetsu grinned slyly. 

~*~ 

"Well?" Minerva asked. 

"We've got him" Hetsu grinned at her. 

Minerva smiled back at him, "Excellent. In a matter of short years, we will rule together!" 

"Indeed" Hetsu replied, "If everything goes accordingly..." 

"Taichi is a child. Easily manipulated. His hatred towards Yamato will grow" 

"I don't doubt that" Hetsu said, "My hatred for both my brothers has grown over the years. And I'm not meant to take the throne. Pity how Taichi feels..." 

"Pity how Yamato will feel" Minerva grinned. 

**~*~ Three Years Later ~*~**

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****"Come on, Taichi!" Yamato yelled excitedly, running past the older boy. 

"Not so fast, Yamato" Taichi trailed behind, now eight years old. 

"It's beautiful!" Yamato exclaimed back, stepping out onto a small ledge, which was a small cliff for there were lower ground below it. 

"Be careful" Taichi said, slowly walking towards him. 

**Taichi...**

****Taichi froze as he heard that female voice. He knew who it was. Minerva, the Sorceress. His Uncle Hetsu's friend. 

"What?" He whispered back. 

**It's time Taichi...__**

**__**"Time for what?" Taichi again whispered, not wanting Yamato to hear. He was the only one that could hear Minerva. 

**You know what... Push him off, Taichi... Push him!**

****"But... I'm meant to be looking after him. Mother and father are just at the entrance of this forest. I can't let anything happen to him!" 

**You can... I only want him injured, so I can teleport you both here with him unconscious. I won't hurt him once he's here. This is the first step to our plan... You remember the plan, right?**

****"Yes..." 

**So, push him!**

****Taichi gulped, "You're not going to kill him?_This_ won't kill him?" 

**I've told you... No. Do it now!**

****"Come on Taichi" Yamato repeated, turning his head around to look at him, "It's awesome!" 

Taichi nodded at him, taking in his brother's innocent smile. As Yamato turned back to gaze gleefully below the cliff, Taichi shut all emotions from himself and rushed forward. He only stopped with his out stretched hands inches away from Yamato's back, before breathing once more and really shoving Yamato off. Taichi closed his eyes for a few mintues after, then finally opened them and crept closer to the edge of the cliff, looking over. The cliff wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. He saw his brother's still form in the valley below, and felt his mouth go dry. 

**Well done, Taichi...__**

**__**Taichi could hear Minerva hiss. 

"You said it wouldn't kill him!" Taichi screamed. 

**He's not dead... Go down into the valley to him... Then I will teleport the both of you...**

Taichi swallowed from relief, then made his way down into the valley, though by going around the cliff. 

"Yamato?" Taichi shook his form. 

**Careful now, Taichi, you don't want to cause any more injuries... Place your hand on him...**

****Taichi did as told, and a moment later, he found himself and Yamato in the cave Minerva called home. 

"Are you sure he's not... dead?" Taichi asked. 

"He is not dead" Minerva smiled, producing a gold key, "I want to have some fun before_ that_ time comes..." 

Taichi looked at the key, "What is that?" 

"I don't think you need to know" Hetsu said, stepping out of the shadows. 

"But I want to know" Taichi frowned. 

Hetsu shrugged at Minerva, "Very well. That, my dear nephew, is the key to the 'door' that locks away all evil in this world" 

"What evil?" 

"The evil that live in the Other World. There is a door in a mystical temple in this world, that can only, or so they say, be opened or closed by this key. The key that took me and Minerva _many_ years to find. I trust you know it is very special" 

"Why did you look for this key?" 

"... You'll find out as the years go by" Hetsu grinned. 

Taichi scrunched his face up as Minerva made the key float above his brother. 

"What are you doing?" Taichi asked. 

"Keeping it safe" Minerva answered, smiling evilly as she brought the key closer to Yamato. 

Yamato's shirt then lifted up, showing his stomach. Taichi watched as the key _sunk_ into Yamato's body, until all of it disappeared completely. 

Taichi looked in awe, "Where'd it go?" 

"Inside Yamato, of course" Minerva grinned, "I trust you, Taichi, to not tell anybody about this?" 

Taichi nodded his head mutely. Minerva smiled. 

"Good. I will now teleport both of you back. Tell your parents he slipped or something of that sort" 

"Ok" Taichi replied, running up to Yamato who was still laying unconsciously on the table, and placed a hand on him as before. 

In a blink of an eye, they were back in the valley. 

"Taichi!? Yamato!?" 

Taichi heard the sound of his father's voice ring through the forest. 

"Down here!" Taichi yelled as loud as he could. 

A moment later, his father and a lot of other men looked down from the cliff at them. As soon as Masaharu saw that one of his sons was hurt, he rushed down, the other men following. 

Masaharu inspected Yamato before cradling him in his arms, then looked over at Taichi. 

"Taichi, you're not hurt, are you?" 

Taichi shook his head. Masaharu sighed, 

"Good. What happened?" 

"He- he fell... over. The cliff" Taichi stuttered. 

Masaharu nodded, then turned to the other men, "One of you, carry Taichi" 

"I don't need to be carried, I'm not a baby like Yamato" Taichi said stubbornly. 

Masaharu smiled at him, "No, you're not. Come on then, Taichi" 

As Taichi walked alongside his father, an image of a very faint scar crossed his mind. It was the scar on Yamato's stomach, where the key had entered, and created. 

**~*~Eleven Years Later ~*~**

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****"Yamato! Get back here!" Hetsu yelled as Yamato dashed through the hallway at increasing speed. 

"He won't, Uncle" Taichi remarked, coming out of a room and gazing down the hallway where Yamato had burst down, "He's excited about going into town alone. Imbecile" 

Hetsu smirked, "Not like you, right, My Prince?" 

"Exactly" Taichi curved his lips, "He has no idea what the real world is like. Not at all" 

"Didn't your father say you were to accompany him?" 

"Right. I guess I'll be going, then" 

Hetsu grinned, "... Foreword before you go. We haven't done anything in over a decade... associated to our _plans_. Follow?" 

Taichi found himself thinking about the events that happened eleven years ago. And nodded his head. 

"Well, Minerva has missed you_ dearly_ between the times. You remember her, don't you-"  
"Get to the point, Uncle" 

"Do you still want to become King? Since, you _are_ the proper one of you and Yamato. Both in quality and birth right..." 

"Yeah. I want to become King" Taichi replied sourly. 

"Then... in a few weeks time, our full plan, a plan of fourteen years, will come into action. What me and Minerva want to know is, are you in. Or out?" 

"... I'm in" Taichi said determinedly. 

"You sure?" Hetsu grinned, "I will warn you this includes a _lot_ of betrayal..." 

"Do you want me in or not?" Taichi grumbled, "You sound like you're pressuring me out" 

"Oh no My Prince, I would do no such thing" Hetsu smiled, "I just needed to know how strongly you felt about this... And if you go through with everything me and Minerva set up for you... _Then_ you will be King" 

"Then I shan't wait for that day" Taichi grinned, walking off down the hallway. 

"So can't I, My Prince, so can't I..." Hetsu whispered to himself, grinning wickedly. 

~*~ 

"This is _so_ cool!" Yamato grinned, looking out of the carriage. 

Next to him, Taichi sat. 

"We're just going into town, Yamato" 

"Yeah, but I've always been accompanied by a couple _dozen_ guards" 

"That's because you're the heir to the throne" Taichi muttered. 

"What was that?" Yamato asked, turning towards Taichi, eyes sparkling. 

"Nothing" 

"Oh... Well, I'm glad mum and dad only said you had to come with me, at least" 

"Yeah..." 

"Hey, Taichi?" 

"Hmm?" 

"... Well, this might sound... weird... But for a few nights now, I've been having the same dream-" 

"Of a girl?" Taichi smirked. 

Yamato laughed, but then sobered, "No... it's about you, actually..." 

"Oh?" Taichi raised an eyebrow, "What about?" 

"Well... This doesn't mean anything ok? The dream probably means nothing at all, but I've woken up lots of times because of it..." 

"Go on" 

"... You've got some sort of... dagger. In your hands. And... um, we're at some place that looks _really_ exotic and expensive... And then... you... Well, you drive the dagger into my stomach- And that's when I wake up" Yamato said the last part quickly. 

Taichi stared at him for a while, then laughed, "You've got some imagination, sport. Keep it up, then maybe you could write a book some day" 

Yamato managed a grin, deciding not to tell Taichi it felt so _real_ though. 

"Then I'll dedicate it to my loving older brother" Yamato grinned. 

Taichi ruffled Yamato's hair, getting a 

"Don't touch the hair!" From his little brother. 

The carriage soon stopped, and both Yamato and Taichi got off. 

"Wait here" Taichi said to the gaurds, "We'll be back soon" 

The guards nodded uncertainly, they had never been away from Yamato at such public _poor_ places. 

"Where do you want to go? It's just a stupid village after all, Yamato. Did you expect something?" Taichi said disdainfully. 

Yamato shook his head, "Let's go to the center, where the markets are" 

"Do you know how many dirt there is around there?" Taichi demanded. 

"Come on, Taichi" Yamato pouted. 

"Fine, but we're going up the buildings" Taichi gave in, following his brother closely, "You know you act just like a five year old, instead of sixteen" 

"What's the fun in growing up?" Yamato grinned, "Hurry up!" 

Soon, the duo arrived at the town center, where all the busy bodies of the of the village were. Trading and selling things of all sorts. 

"We go up" Taichi stated, pulling Yamato towards a stair that led to ledges that overlooked the entire center. 

"But we can't buy anything from up there" Yamato complained, being dragged along. 

"You weren't _seriously_ going to buy something from this trash hole, were you?" Taichi shook his head. 

The brothers now looked over the town, arms resting on the ledge. 

"Hey..." Taichi squinted his eyes, "Isn't that Princess Sora?" 

"Who?" Yamato asked. 

"Oh right, you wouldn't have met her... well, she's your age. And I met her about two years ago. At a magic convention..." 

"Magic convention? Cool! Dad let you go? Why wasn't _I_ allowed? No fair!" Yamato exclaimed. 

"You wouldn't of liked it. You don't believe in magic, remember?" 

"It's still cool" Yamato stated. 

"Come on, let's go say hello" 

"Decided to go get dirty now, have we?" Yamato grinned, "That wouldn't be because this certain girl is hot, would it?" 

"How would you know she's hot?" Taichi retorted. 

"By the way you keep looking... out there" Yamato waved. 

"Yamato. Run" 

"On my way!" Yamato yelled as he ran down the stairs, Taichi running after him. 

The two brothers weaved through the crowd below, until finally Taichi put on a burst of speed and clutched Yamato around the upper half of his body. As the crowd watched from the corner of their eyes, Yamato struggled and laughed, until a girl made herself present in their view. Taichi released Yamato. 

"... Prince Taichi?" The cinnamon haired girl asked, amusement in her eyes. 

"Ah, so it _is_ you. Princess Sora" Taichi bowed slightly. 

"And it is you, Prince Taichi" Sora did the same. 

"Ahem" Yamato coughed. 

Taichi turned a bit towards him, "This is my younger brother, Yamato" 

"Prince Yamato" Sora bowed again, smiling. 

Yamato grinned back. 

"So" Taichi butted in, "What are you doing here? Not just in this town, but in this part of the world?" 

"My parents decided to holiday here..." Sora told some truth, but not all. 

"How nice" Taichi smiled, "I'm sure my parents will be glad if they visited our castle" 

"Yeah, that would be cool" Yamato grinned, "So, how bout you come home with us right now?" 

"Yamato" Taichi warned. 

Sora laughed, "You're quite... different. And that was not an insult" 

"I wouldn't of taken it as one" Yamato smiled. 

Taichi was getting agitated. Why is it that Yamato always seemed to win in everything? It wasn't _fair!_

__Suddenly, Yamato fell to the ground on his knees, clutching his stomach with both hands. He moaned in agony, his eyes shut tight and his forehead perspired. 

Sora stared wide-eyed at him, then glanced around as if searching for something that was causing this. 

_I sense something..._

__Taichi in the mean time stared at his brother for a quick second before bending down to try to help him. Then Yamato suddenly opened his eyes, all pain gone. He blinked a few times, and swallowed, but the pain was still gone. Calm. 

"What... happened?" He asked Taichi as his brother helped him up. 

"Don't know..." Taichi replied, _Could it be...? I did that?_

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**Er... How was that? Hehe ^^ If you didn't like... GO AWAY! Lol ^^ But if u thought it was ok... Review, pwease? ^^**


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